Fare gates close for all SkyTrain stations and SeaBus April 8

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Those open fare gates at SkyTrain stations and SeaBus terminals aren’t going to stay open forever. TransLink announced today that closure of the outstanding open fare gates begins Monday, April 4th and continues through Friday, April 8th, 2016 when all gates are completely closed.

During the week, extra transit staff will be on hand to help to passengers making the jump to Compass if they haven’t already done so. They can also aid passengers requiring assistance through the fare gates.

In order for proper calculation of the fare, the Compass card must be tapped in at the station’s (or terminal) entrance and then again upon exiting the station/terminal. Travelling by bus is different as passengers only need to tap in when boarding the vehicle — they do not need to tap out upon exiting.

Once all the gates have closed, only Compass cards and single use fare cards can open them. TransLink ceased sales of FareSaver tickets back in January; remaining FareSavers are convertible to Compass and staff at the Compass Customer Service Centre can help transfer the value to a Compass card. The Compass Customer Service Centre is at the Beatty Street entrance to Stadium-Chinatown SkyTrain station.

Concern raised regarding how passengers with disabilities can tap in and out at stations is a concern for the transit operator and their statement acknowledged this. TransLink is working with individuals, support groups and stakeholders on solutions that can make the system more accessible.

TransLink also included a few statistics surrounding Compass noting that there are more than 675,000 cards in use with an average of 300,000 being tapped on a weekday. There are some 300,000 cards registered to their owners and that 70,000 of those cards use the auto-load feature to keep their cards funded.

Compass cards are available for purchase in stations, online or at the Compass Customer Service Centre.

Source: TransLink

 

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